Red-Silver Wandering Jew
Tradescantia 'Red-Silver'
Height: 8 inches
Spacing: 12 inches
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 8a
Other Names: Inch Plant, Creeping Jenny
Description:
This lovely trailing variety is predominantly grown for its foliage; cascading leaves of silvery green and deep burgundy show off in hanging baskets, patio containers, window boxes or as ground cover; low maintenance and heat tolerant
Ornamental Features
Red-Silver Wandering Jew's attractive pointy leaves remain grayish green in color with showy burgundy variegation and tinges of silver throughout the year on a plant with a trailing habit of growth.
Landscape Attributes
Red-Silver Wandering Jew is an herbaceous evergreen perennial with a trailing habit of growth, eventually spilling over the edges of hanging baskets and containers. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.
This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Red-Silver Wandering Jew is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Mass Planting
- Border Edging
- General Garden Use
- Groundcover
- Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
- Container Planting
- Hanging Baskets
Planting & Growing
Red-Silver Wandering Jew will grow to be about 8 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 12 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.
This plant should be grown in a location with partial shade. Keep it away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. Consider covering it with a thick layer of mulch in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by cuttings; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.
Red-Silver Wandering Jew is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. Because of its trailing habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.